This invention relates to a non-toxic ngredient and the process for producing this ingredient hat can be used as the base in consumer products. When this ingredient is used as the base it is not necessary to add preservatives to the consumer product.
Most paper is made from plant fiber, most often wood, in a process that separates the cellulose from the other plant fiber material. Cellulose, the major constituent of plant fibers, is a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are convertible into glucose by hydrolysis, a chemical process of decomposition. Under appropriate conditions the bacteria present in the paper making process contributes to and hastens decomposition. As a result, when cellulose pulp material is maintained in a hydrous state it has a very short shelf life.
In the paper making process, water is driven from the cellulose pulp and the remaining fiber is dried in one continuous operation. After the water has been removed, decomposition of the cellulose pulp ceases. However, if the process is suspended with the cellulose pulp in the hydrous state, for example over 90% water, the pulp has a very short shelf life. This short shelf life has been a major obstacle to the development of non-paper industry uses for hydrous cellulose pulp.
Generally speaking, hydrous cellulose pulp is vulnerable to decomposition regardless of whether the pulp is derived from virgin vegetable constituents or from paper in a recycling operation.
Toxic biocides are added to the process during the pulping stage which will inhibit decomposition but not stop it. The introduction of toxic biocides necessitated the addition of safety measures to protect the workers involved in the paper making process. In some paper making processes a slury of hydrous cellulose pulp material is spread in sheets and baled for shipping. Wet lap pulp is the term used to identify this hydrous cellulose pulp material. If biocides are sprayed on the wet lap pulp after it has emerged from the pulper, the toxic biocides escape into the atmosphere and/or flow into our streams and rivers and thus create hazardous conditions. Furthermore, toxic residues remain in the wet lap pulp that may renders it unacceptable for use in consumer products especially consumer products that are consumed. Thus, the toxic biocides must be introduced into the paper making process during the pulping stage rather than being sprayed on the wet lap pulp after it has emerged from the pulping stage. As a result after a batch of wet lap pulp is produced that includes toxic biocides the pulping system must be cleaned to eliminate all biocides residues before a batch of wet lap pulp can be produced that is completely free of toxic biocides.
Waxed paper is customarily manufacture by forming the paper sheet first then treating the sheet with an application of wax coating, either in dry or liquid form. For example, molten paraffin wax is easily applied by continuously passing a paper sheet through a molten bath of wax, removing the excess and then chilling. Such waxed papers have excellent resistance to water vapor, are free from odor, taste and toxicity and are low in cost.
At one time waste waxed paper presented problems in the paper recycling industry. When waste wax paper was recycled waxy spots would appear on the resulting recycled paper and a wax coating would collect on the equipment thus fouling the recycling process.
Consequently, the resulting recycled paper was considered inferior and it was often necessary to stop the process so that the equipment could be adequately cleaned.
This problem, with recycling waste waxed paper, was solved however by adding a water dispersible non-ionic emulsifiers to the pulper during the repulping phase of the recycling process. The mixture containing the emulsifier is mechanically agitated at a temperature sufficiently high to melt the wax, for example from approximately 150.degree. to 190.degree. Fahrenheit. This process produced an emulsified wax-fiber slurry having a solids consistency of from approximately 4% to 6% by weight. The hydrous cellulose pulp produced in this process for recycling waste waxed paper has the property of an unlimited shelf life. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,808,089 and 3,822,178, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, fully discloses the above described process.
Various non-paper industry uses have been discovered for this hydrous cellulose pulp having an unlimited shelf life. For example, as a dispersed ingredient in toothpaste, shampoo, soap, detergent, lotions and cream products. Other non-paper industry uses that were discovered for this product were its use as artificial snow and mulch. The discovery of these non-paper industry uses of hydrous cellulose pulp having an unlimited shelf life is the subject matters of U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,090 that issued on May 2, 1995. U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,090 is hereby incorporated by reference as a part of this application. The hydrous cellulose pulp having an unlimited shelf life produced in accordance with the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,090 has a fiber content of about 4-6% by weight. Although this fiber content function, for example when included in shampoo as a scrubbing agent, traces of the fiber that are large enough to be visible to the consumer is left on the hair. This residue, although harmless, is unacceptable to some consumers. For the above reasons there is a need for a hydrous cellulose material that has an unlimited shelf life, that does not leave a visible pulp residue that could render the product in which it is contained unacceptable as a consumer product and is non toxic.
Many consumer products are formed with a water base. The purest natural water includes microorganisms that will in time cause water base products to become rancid if preservatives are not added. Thus, water based consumer products commonly include a preservative. Although preservatives are chosen that most people can tolerate, some individuals are allergic to or have reactions to these preservatives. Also, the long range effect of these preservatives is often not know for certain.
Thus, there is a need for a non toxic product that can server as an exfoliant or emollient agent in consumer products that does not leave a visible residue.
Furthermore, there is a need for a base ingredient that can be used in consumer products that does not require a preservative to prevent the consumer product from degrading and not contaminate the hydrous cellulose material for use in consumer products.
There is also a need in the horticultural field to prevent mold on plants and in physiology area to prevent the degradation of cells.